Wet dog aroma

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Beer Terrorist

Wet dog aroma

Post by Beer Terrorist » Fri Feb 12, 2010 11:14 pm

Can someone please explain where this aroma comes from. I've search this website and the internet for the answer but can't find anything. Here is what I can say with certainty:

1. I currently have three kegs, two of which have had beer in which has had this aroma. All the beers have been fermented in the same fermenter.
2. Currently a lager from one of the one keg has quite a strong wet dog aroma. The second keg has an IPA which does not currently suffer from this problem. It has been dry hopped and there is therefore quite a strong hop aroma, however, the keg in question has produced beer with a wet dog aroma previously.
3. The past brews that have had this aroma have been all grain brews. The third keg that I have currently has a kit beer in it which is very good, but I cannot remember the last brew that was stored in it.

Due to the number of variables (kegs, grain and dry hopping) I am having difficulty pinpointing the problems. If you have any idea please let me know.

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jubby
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Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by jubby » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:38 am

Not heard of that one. Take a look here to see if there's anything close to what you have: http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html
Mr Nick's Brewhouse.

Thermopot HLT Conversion

Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:

adm

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by adm » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:39 am

Do you own a dog?

If so, keep a closer eye on him.....

the_great_okapi

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by the_great_okapi » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:12 pm

Sounds like trichloroanisole.

Could be anything during your normal process, take a look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_taint

I hope you find the culprit. And I hope it isn't a real wet dog!

Eadweard
Lost in an Alcoholic Haze
Posts: 683
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Location: Woking

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by Eadweard » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:21 pm

I always thought 'wet dog' meant the beer was on the turn. How long have you had it in the fermenter?

De-Geert

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by De-Geert » Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:55 pm

Wet dog aroma can also come from wild yeast infection (eg. Brettanomyces). Did you work with Orval yeast or anything like that?

Beer Terrorist

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by Beer Terrorist » Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:03 pm

In response to your various suggestions:

I don't own a dog so have discounted that.
I used Wyeast Bavaria 2206 which I hoped was OK.
The lager has been in the shed since Dec and only in the fermenter for 10-14 days if I remember correctly.
I did find trichloroanisole on the internet and having a read it is a possibility.

However, I've just poured myself a class to taste to see if I can describe the smell any better but it seems to have gone. I got a second opinion and neither did they notice the smell as they did last night. It may well be that the glass used last to taste it was the cause of the odor. Despite this some past brews have suffered from the smell in the past so I think the best thing will be a good clean of the keg.

coatesg

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by coatesg » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:40 pm

I'd hazard a guess at some kind of infection, though if it tasted OK, then maybe not. I'd blitz the keg with bleach for a long time and then rinse it out thoroughly with boiling water just in case though - make you you take the tap off and dunk that in a cup of bleach in case there's something lurking in the tap/threads.

wetdog

Re: Wet dog aroma

Post by wetdog » Sun Feb 14, 2010 3:43 pm

nowt to do with me...

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